Short Interest in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Increases By 37.9%

Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,950,000 shares, a growth of 37.9% from the January 31st total of 5,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,510,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Fortive Price Performance

FTV stock traded down $1.87 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $77.13. 2,638,271 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,089,521. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.70. Fortive has a one year low of $66.15 and a one year high of $87.10. The company has a market cap of $26.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Fortive will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup cut Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Fortive in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total value of $2,530,223.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,003,296.36. The trade was a 29.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total value of $457,997.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,141 shares in the company, valued at $3,795,793.32. This represents a 10.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock worth $19,508,529 in the last 90 days. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortive

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Fortive during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Fortive by 186.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Fortive

Fortive Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and services professional and engineered products, software, and services in the United States, China, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Intelligent Operating Solutions, Precision Technologies, and Advanced Healthcare Solutions. The Intelligent Operating Solutions segment provides advanced instrumentation, software, and services, including electrical test and measurement, facility and asset lifecycle software applications, and connected worker safety and compliance solutions for manufacturing, process industries, healthcare, utilities and power, communications and electronics, and other industries.